2011 Papahānaumokuākea Intertidal Monitoring Cruise Survey Team Reflections: Hoku Johnson – Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

I was truly honored to coordinate the intertidal monitoring trip this year. All the participants were incredibly hard-working, respectful, considerate and extremely talented in their knowledge about rocky shoreline flora and fauna; traditional Native Hawaiian uses of different limu, invertebrates and fishes; and weather patterns.

While working in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, it is a requirement to conduct your work with extreme focus, respect and humility, especially in a remote, sacred area where the nearest hospital was a two-day boat ride away. Taking care of the places we went by offering hoʻokupu (gifts), mele (songs) and oli (chants) was not an option, it was mandatory and everyone accepted this wholeheartedly. We all worked with the mindset that if we took care of the islands we were working on, they would take care of us – and they did.

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